Quirky
by Echo101
Summary: It's Orla Quirke's 5th year, and her second watching the Triwizard Tournament. As the Tournament goes on, Orla discovers a secret about the Hogwarts Champion making her wonder, is the Dark Lord truly dead?
1. The Yule Ball

**A/N Orla Quirke is mentioned in Goblet of Fire in the Sorting Ceremony. I just thought her last name was funny, hence, this story.**

"Hey, Quirky." A Slytherin boy yelled.

"Ignore them, ignore them." I muttered to myself. I raced up to my tower and knocked on the bronze door knob.

"What may people seek, but never find?" The Raven asked. I thought for a moment.

"Death." I answered. The door opened. I rushed in, dropping all of my books on the couch.

"In a rush?" My friend, Emily Lee asked, idly turning a page in the Daily Prophet.

"Emily, you know as well as I do that the Yule Ball is _tonight_ and I haven't even started getting ready!"

Emily waved her hand airily. "I thought you weren't going to go? You said you wouldn't go if you didn't have a date, and you don't."

"Well…" I said, blushing.

Emily sat straight up. "No." She said dramatically. "Who is it?"

"It's um…Owen Cauldwell. From Hufflepuff." I replied.

Emily goggled. "I got Stew…and you get _Owen_."

"He's nice." I defended.

Emily rolled her eyes. "Niceness aside, he's got the looks of a mermaid."

"I know mermaids are ugly, but he _said_ that he was waiting all year to ask me. And I didn't have a date either, so it's not exactly like I could turn him down…could I?"

"I don't know Orla. You could've gotten _anyone_ and you said yes to him?"

"It's our fifth year. I couldn't go in our first, so I'm going to go now."

Emily waved her hand. "Do you really want to be kissing Acne Face?"

"We're going as _friends_. Even you know what that means."

Emily snorted. "Yes, and then you're going to go out."

"Look, neither of us have anybody to go with, and the ball is tonight." I stood up and got ready to leave as Emily went back to the Daily Prophet.

"Oh, do the Slytherins still call you Quirky?" She asked me, looking at me sympathetically.

"Yeah." I growled. "One year since their precious Dark Lord fell and they _still_ won't let it go."

She patted my hand sympathetically. "It gets worse before it gets better."

I laughed. "How can it get worse?"

We sat in a glittering hall, filled with lights. The Great Hall looked wonderful, and I was happy. Of course, I got odd looks for being with Owen, but Owen was nice enough, and we were going as friends. It wasn't like we were dating or anything. We both were shy about dancing, so we just sat and talked. Owen _was_ nice and we were talking about Quidditch. It seemed perfect. Until, of course, someone had to yell, "Hey Quirky, watcha doin' with Cauldrenbottom? He's too good for you!" Everyone started jeering.

Owen stood up. "Come on Orla!" He said loudly and led me from the Great Hall.

"Thanks." I said gratefully.

Owen shrugged. "Don't mention it." He was build like a Beater, and was slightly cross-eyed. I'd heard stories about Eloise Midgen and _her_ acne and I think Owen could give her a run for her money. Owen's teeth are kind of yellow and crooked, and his complexion is the color of porridge. But, like I said, he's really nice. And kind. But he's a little like a doormat, which annoys me. I had to tutor him in third year, and we became friends after that. He helped me get through fourth year, and I made sure he didn't fall behind. I also pretended to be his cousin, because he was Muggle-born. All in all, he's one of my closest friends and I'm one of his _only_ friends.

Without really saying where we were going, we meandered onto the grounds and sat down on the dock in front of the lake. "I wonder if the Giant Squid is hungry." Owen mused.

I laughed. "I wonder when this war is going to be over."

He looked at me. "It is."

I shook my head. "It's not. It's still there, even if people don't want to hear about it."

"But Voldemort's gone."

"Did you hear about the attack on the Ministry? They were seriously thinking about not having the Triwizard Tournament here."

Owen thought for a moment. "I really hope Jada wins."

I snorted. "She's too overconfident. Jada Angela thinks she can get by on luck and talent." I looked up at the sky. "No, it has to be Chantal. She got in by hard work. And she cares too much about her school to lose. No, Chantal Falke will win."

Owen shrugged. "I don't know. Andrei Levinski seems pretty good. I mean, Chantal is good at Charms, but Andrei is _really_ good at Transfiguration."

"What about Michelle Garber? She's really good at the physical, and from what I heard, she was on her school's Quodpot team."

"She's okay. She's not great at wandwork though."

"I wonder why the American's are here though. I mean, we just finished a _war_, and they agree to compete in the Triwizard Tournament. Who does that?"

"I asked Molly Garber, you know, Michelle's twin sister. She says that it's because 'they want the thrill.' What's that supposed to mean?"

I shrugged. "God knows."

"These Americans are weird. And crazy." Owen agreed. "But they're funny. Did you see what Sam McNeil was doing on the dance floor? That was some of the funniest things I've ever seen."

"That was dancing." I said dismissively. "It's called break-dancing."

Andrew goggled at me. "What did you do, research them?" He asked.

I blushed. "No! We should go to the castle anyways." I said. "It's getting late.

We walked up to the castle in complete silence. "Good night." He told me.

I smiled at him. "Good night."

I went up to the Ravenclaw tower. "Safety is hard to come by. What is harder?"

I smiled. "The feeling of safety." The door didn't open. "Okay, um...immortality?" It still didn't open. "Fine." I snapped. "Love." The door opened. I blinked. "Really? I was just kidding."

I ran into the common room to find Emily waiting for me.

"What happened?" She asked. "I'm going to _kill_ those Slytherins. I have no idea why they're so smug."

"Relax." I insisted. "I'm fine, aren't I?"

"Yeah…but I still hate those Slytherins."

"Maybe it's time to go past those old grudges."

"NO!" Emily yelled. "Are you crazy? Those Slytherins would be on us in minutes."

I sighed. "Look, we're both tired. Why don't we discuss this in the morning?"

Emily nodded. "All right." We both went up to our dorms. As I changed out of my lavender gown and Emily did the same with her blue one, I wondered when this war will end.


	2. The Second Task

"So…" Emily asked me.

"So…" I replied over the top of my Charms book.

She rolled her eyes and scooted towards me on the couch. "Are you excited?" I considered this for a moment. The second task was coming up. "I seriously hope that Jada will win. Although," She sighed, "there's not that much hope."

I shrugged. "I have no idea why the Goblet of Fire had to pick her. I mean, she's as stupid as a troll-"

"But as hot as a Veela. I wish I had her looks. Then any guy would ask me out." Emily said crossly.

"No." I replied, going back to my charms book. "They'd be too intimidated. I seriously think that Chantal will win."

Emily snorted. "That blond bimbo? She doesn't know how to transfigure a fly." I glared at her pointedly. "All right." Emily conceded. "Maybe she has _some_ moves. But what about Andrei? He's on the Bulgarian Quidditch team!"

"I couldn't care less about him." I said flippantly as I started taking notes. "I think Michelle is okay. She's pretty good at athletics." I frowned, reading what I'd written. Nirder's 3rd Law of Levitation didn't sound right.

"I know!" Emily squealed. "I heard that she has contacts _inside_ the Ministry." When I didn't respond to this comment, she went on. "Her sister was saying that their _father_ going to be the next President of Magic!"

"Right." I sometimes wondered how my friend got into Ravenclaw.

It was the morning of the second task. Last time, it had been the champions going into the lake to find the people they loved. This time, it was going into the Forbidden Forest. Basically, they had three hours to find…something. No one knew what. I wasn't looking forward to the task though. I couldn't find Emily. I figured she was with her new boyfriend, Eric, from Gryffindor, but he said he hadn't seen her. He was worried sick too. They'd met at the ball, but they were already madly in love.

I saw Owen ahead of me. "Hey, Owen!" I yelled, catching up to him. He turned around and paused, waiting for me. "Have you seen Emily?" I asked him.

"No." His forehead scrunched up in confusion. "Why?"

"She's gone!" I exclaimed. "I tried to find her last night, and I couldn't. I've checked everywhere! The common room, our dorms, the empty classrooms. I even checked the library, and Emily's never there!"

Owen laughed. "She's the only Ravenclaw allergic to the library." He gazed at the forest, deep in thought. "What if…but they can't have." He glanced at me. "Come on!" He pulled me onwards towards the spectators' box. We ran all the way towards the Forest. "Remember what happened in the last 2nd task?" Owen asked me. I felt my heart turn to ice. Thoughts of denial were swirling in my head. _No champion knew her. She's with Eric. What champion would see her as a friend? If it's Andrei, then he knows she has a boyfriend._

We skidded up to Neville. He'd stayed on after the war, helping to rebuild everything. He was a sort of consular for us. Someone we could talk to if we had a problem. "Neville." I panted as he watched us skid up to him. "Is Emily part of this task?"

"She's not a champion." He said, not meeting our eyes.

"But you remember what happened in the last 2nd task." I pressed. He nodded uncomfortably. "So are they doing something like that this time?"

"Professor!" Owen interrupted. "_Please_. Can you tell us where she is?" He beseeched.

Neville hesitated. "She's in the forest. She was chosen as the Hogwarts hostage. As soon as Jada finds her-"

"Jada will never find her!" I shrieked. "Emily's going to die!"

Neville shook his head. "The centaurs will make sure nothing bad happens to her."

Owen gaped. "_Centaurs_. You have _centaurs_?"

Neville sighed and rubbed his nose. "Look, she'll be fine. The centaurs have given their word."

"And what good is a centaur's word?" Owen cried.

I shifted uncomfortably. "Owen, centaurs never break their word. It's as sacred to them as…as Hogwarts is to us."

Owen looked at me, raising his eyebrows. "So, she'll be safe, even if Jada never comes to rescue her."

Neville sighed. "That's the plan."

I shrugged. "At least we know she's safe."

The task had already ended, and only Andrei and Chantal had returned. Jada and Michelle were still in the Forest. I think Molly had been taken. She was the only one missing. Every time there was a task, a _Gemini_ copy of Michelle was there.

I bit my nails as we waited. "Do you think Jada's found her?" I asked Owen as Michelle returned to applause.

He leaned closer to me. "No." He said, pretending to be interested in Molly's well-being. "Jada's smart enough to know to get out of there once she has her hostage."

I shook my head. "I'm really scared."

Owen glanced at me. "Don't worry, she'll be fine." He said, reassuring me.

"It's not her I'm worried about. Emily can take care of herself. It's Jada. If she's injured…" I shivered. "Remember what happened last time?" I reminded Owen.

Owen shrugged. "Last I checked, Voldemort was dead."

"Yeah…but still."

"No dark wizard's gonna rise tonight. Relax. Jada's probably lost or something."

I snorted. "Except she'd be too stupid to admit it." As I said this, a blood-curdling shriek came from the depths of the forest. An oppressing silence fell over us, as we all turned to the source of the sound. Jada came, limping, carrying the body of Emily.

I wasn't aware of what I was doing. All I know is that one moment, I stood there, screaming, the next I woke up gasping in an unfamiliar room.


	3. Choices

I woke up to bright light. "What's going on?" I placed a hand to my head.

"Shhh...No sitting up." A voice said crossly. "You'll hurt yourself."

"Madame Pomfrey? What?" I asked again.

"You fainted." Owen came in to my vision. "Madame Pomfrey said it was because you hadn't eaten anything."

"Don't be stupid." I said. "I _did_ eat."

"Not really. I haven't seen you at the house tables for a while."

"I was just studying." I insisted. "And Emily brought me food."

Owen rolled his eyes. "Face it, you weren't eating."

"All right, I wasn't." I said, irritated. "I didn't go down to the Great Hall because the Slytherins would call me Quirky, and I HATE IT!" I started blinking back tears.

"So what?" Owen yelled. "They call me Cauldrenbottom. You think I like having a name like that? I just have to go down there and face it!"

"Well you're Hufflepuff!" I yelled back. So this is how it's going to go. "You just stand there. I'm Ravenclaw! I just run away."

Owen laughed humorlessly. "I thought only Slytherins were cowards. Guess you disproved that."

I opened my mouth to retort, and then I remembered something. _Emily_. "Where's Emily?" I asked hurriedly.

"Don't change the subject." Owen warned.

"I'm serious!" I insisted. "Where is she?"

Owen hesitated. "Well, for the most part she's fine. Just a few scratches and stuff."

"But…"

"She was attacked by a unicorn. Jada tried to defend her but…"

"So what's going to happen to her?"

"I don't know." Owen said. "You're Ravenclaw. Figure it out."

"Well…she's probably going to have some healing powers. But why would a unicorn attack them?"

"Hagrid said it's because her foals were right there. She thought Jada and Emily were a threat."

"Gee." I said sarcastically. "A person dragging another person along. That sounds pretty threatening."

"Stop it."

"Stop what?"

"The way you've been acting. Look, I know it's hard when the Slytherins call you Quirky. But you can't let it rule your life. You can't avoid them. You can't just run away. Sooner or later, you're going to have to come back. You're going to have to fight. This world's gotta fight. Some bad things happened, yeah. But you can't let it rule you. You've gotta stand up for yourself. And you've gotta leave the bad things behind. It'll be you laughing, when you're in the Ministry and they're street bums." That was the most Owen had ever said. And I think he noticed it, because he shut up right away.

"So what am I going to do about it?" I asked him. "Is that what you're asking me?"

He nodded. "I'll be behind you. 100%."

"Okay." I shrug.

The goblets and cutlery were clinking as I finished my breakfast. After my fainting fit, Emily made sure I ate everything on my plate.

Emily was different. There seemed to be some sort of silvery glow around her. If she touched you, you automatically felt better. And then there was that weird ability to talk to any animal. She let the parakeets in Transfiguration go free because of it. She said they wanted to live, not be turned into cups. Of course, she got a detention.

Owen winked at me over from the Hufflepuff table. We'd started off as acquaintances, and now we were really good friends. We'd bonded in the hospital wing as I waited for Emily to join the world of the living.

Jada was in disgrace. She failed to save her hostage. Her popularity went down. She'd seemed deflated recently, like she wasn't pleasing someone. Chantal and Andrei were at the top of their game. They were all the rage. Michelle got into the "rebel" stereotype, coming to school with neon green streaks in her hair.

Personally, I thought she was taking it a bit too far, especially when she charmed the potions to bubble whenever Professor Slughorn got near them. He eventually left the classroom so that the students could finally complete their potions. It was a well done charm, I just didn't approve. Professor Slughorn was _really_ nice. He constantly invited me and Emily to his parties. Well, Emily mostly. She was the favorite, not that I was complaining. Slughorn would probably want something from me later.

* * *

><p>I was walking back from the library when I heard a voice in the door. "You must know you're failing." The voice sent shivers down my spine. But I distinctly recognized it.<p>

"I know." I gasped. That was Jada. "I just need a little more time. That's all."

"I've given you enough time." The voice spoke again, and it didn't sound happy.

"Please. Can I just talk to my sister?" Jada was pleading. And crying. Jada never pleaded or cried.

"No." The voice was final. "I don't care what you think. Do it soon, or your sister will

face the consequences."

"I have one more Task. I just need that one to get the job done."

"I've given you enough chances."

"You've only given me two!" Jada was fighting back.

"This is your last chance." The voice warned.

"I know." Jada said miserably.

"Good. Then do it." There was a threat in that voice.

I heard footsteps coming towards the door. I hastily pressed myself into the wall as the door opened out, covering me. I waited until the footsteps were gone.

I went into the room and saw Jada. There were tears running down her face. She gasped and fell off the desk she was crying on when she saw me.

I folded my arms across my chest. "Okay, explain."

**Ohhh…cliffhanger. I'm really sorry I haven't updated this for a while. But I will update! Soon. Okay, maybe not. How about, I'll **_**try**_** to update soon. And btw, **_**please**_** review. Pretty please? With a cherry on top?**


	4. Jada's Secret

**A/N Don't worry, Stromsten. All will be revealed.**

Jada raised her tear-streaked face and collapsed into sobs again, pushing her dark brown hair out of her face. She glanced up at me. I kept my arms crossed. Despite my iron will not to feel pity, I did feel some. I pushed it out of my mind. _Emily could have been killed,_ I reminded myself.

Jada finally stopped shaking. "After the Vol-the Dark Lord fell, the woman came to our house." She started crying again. "She said…she said that there was…hope, I guess, that the Dark Lord could be resurrected. And…I agreed." She looked up at me again, and I noticed her eyes were red from crying. She swallowed. "I told her that I wouldn't do it. I'd never help…_him_."

"But…" I started to ask.

She sniffed. "But she told me to look for my sister. And I looked. Honest! I looked everywhere in the house. I came back to her. I asked her where she had hidden her. And…and she laughed. And she said that…bad things would happen to her unless I did what she wanted." I shivered. I could imagine what sort of bad things would happen to Jada's sister.

"How was she going to do it? And who is she?" I was completely mystified. I should be saying that Jada was lying. But somehow, the Ravenclaw sense was telling me Jada was being truthful.

"It's…Bellatrix Lestrange." She whispered. The other things I could believe. This…this was _impossible._ I'd seen Bellatrix die. Jada must've seen the disbelief on my face. "I'm telling the truth!" She cried. "I saw her. She came to my house. I don't know how or why, but she did!"

"Okay." I said cautiously. "And how was she planning to raise the Dark Lord exactly?"

Jada swallowed. "She told me that the Triwizard tournament was going to be held. She'd charmed the Goblet into making _me_ the champion. And she said that I would have to retrieve something. I would be pulled to it."

"What is it?" I asked.

Jada held up her hands. "I don't know. All I know is that I have to get it…before the Tournament's over."

I slid down the wall. "My God, Jada. Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"She said if I did, I'd never see _her_ again." I knew who her was. Jada looked at me desperately. "Please don't tell anyone. I have to find this."

"Why can't I do it?" I asked suddenly. "I'm more free than you are. I'll help you Jada. I know what Bellatrix can do."

Jada shook her head. "I don't want to drag you into this. It's not good, what I'm getting into."

I shook my head. "Jada, you can't let Voldemort rise. It'd be like what the last two years were like!"

"Well I can't let my sister die." Jada shot back. "You think I have a choice? I have to save my sister. I promised my mum!"

I sighed. "Look, Jada, we'll figure this out together. But you can't let Voldemort rise."

She sobbed harder. "I know."

I held her hand. "Look, I'll help you look into what you're trying to find. Maybe I'll find out where your sister is being kept." I suggested.

She looked up, her eyes desperate. "Yes. Please."

**A/N If that does not satisfy some people, please say so in your reviews. Also, if you have constructive criticism, that would be nice too.**


	5. Chapter 5 Sneak Peak

**A/N So this isn't the whole chapter. It's a quick sneak peak. I'm currently waiting for it to come back from by beta. I'm also planning to have this story finished in about 3-4 chapters.**

The dormitory was one of my favorite places. It was quiet, and we had a never ending supply of books. But if you wanted to find Emily, you had to go up to our dorm and see her 'mirror-talking' to Eric. I walked up there, carrying a load of books that obscured my face.

"Hey, Orla. You want some help?"

"Thanks, Emily." I replied.

She took about half the stack from me and put it on my bed. She looked over me in concern. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine." I lied. I paused. The next question would be awkward. "Emily, have you noticed anything different about you? After the unicorn attacked you?"

Emily frowned. "Well, I have been feeling better, I guess. And besides me being delusional and thinking the animals are talking to me, I guess I'm the same I was. Why?"

"Nothing." I replied, busying myself in the books. "I just read something about survivors of unicorn attacks." I said, turning the page.

Emily shrugged, then looked over my appearance. "You need a 'make-over' as our American friends call it."

I looked at her blankly. She sighed. "It's where you change your appearance. And you _need_ to change. I promise, a few minutes and the Slytherins won't be calling you Quirky anymore."

"Right," I muttered as I scoured the page for information on unicorns.


End file.
